How To Drain All Water From Toilet

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You may need to drain a toilet to requite the bowl or tank a thorough cleaning, and especially if you need to do repairs. Fortunately, yous can drain a toilet in only a few minutes. All y'all need to do is shut off the water and flush the toilet to get it to drain. Y'all can and so work on or make clean the toilet without worrying about excess h2o.

one
Turn off the water supply to the toilet. Somewhere most the toilet, in that location should be a close-off valve. It'southward mostly a modest knob constitute on the wall or floor most the toilet. This shuts off the water supply when turned clockwise, allowing the toilet to drain.^[1]
- Exist careful not to suspension the valve or the pipage. Hold the base of the valve with one mitt and turn it with the other.
2

Remove the top of the tank. Carefully have the top off of the toilet tank and set information technology aside on a soft surface, like a towel, so it doesn't break. This way, y'all can see the water as it drains to make certain information technology'southward draining completely.

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three
Flush the toilet. Press downwards on the flush valve. Flushing the toilet should crusade the h2o in the tank to showtime to drain.^[2] If the water doesn't appear to be draining, double check the close off valve. Make sure you twisted it as far as you lot can to switch off the h2o supply.
- If the toilet knob will not close off properly, try temporarily shutting off the h2o supply to your business firm.
4

Concord down the valve until all the water has drained. Keep pressing downwardly on the flush valve. Hold it down until all the water drains from the tank of your toilet.^[iii]

one

Drain the tank first. The bowl will non drain properly if you attempt to drain information technology before draining the tank. When draining a toilet, always start with the tank.^[4]
two

Business relationship for some mess. No affair how careful y'all are, the process can be a little messy. It's a good idea to lay downwardly a tarp or some old towels most the base of the toilet. This will soak upwards any water that spills out during the process.
3

Fill a big saucepan with most 3 gallons (11 50) of water. Have a bucket that holds around 5 gallons (xix L). Make full it with ii gallons (7.6 L) to 3 gallons (11 L) of water from your tub or sink.^[5]
4
Cascade the water into the bowl. It may seem counterproductive, only pouring the water into the bowl actually causes the toilet bowl to drain. Lift the lid of the toilet and slowly cascade the h2o into the basin, lifting the bucket as y'all pour. This will draw the water out of the bowl.^[6]
- If pouring slowly doesn't practice the pull a fast one on, quickly dump the remaining h2o in the bucket into the bowl, as sudden action tin can assistance the water bleed.
five

Sponge out any remaining h2o. While pouring water into the basin should draw out most of the water, at that place will all the same be some water pooled at the bottom of the bowl. Catch a wad of paper towels or a sponge. Printing this on the lesser of the bowl to soak up any remaining water.^[7]

EXPERT TIP

James Schuelke, along with his twin brother David, is the co-owner of the Twin Domicile Experts, a licensed plumbing, leak detection, and mold inspection company based in Los Angeles, California. James has over 32 years of home service and business organisation plumbing experience and has expanded the Twin Dwelling house Experts to Phoenix, Arizona and the Pacific Northwest.

James Schuelke
Professional Plumber

Try using a wet vac instead. To bleed a toilet tank, shut off the angle stop, or the valve that comes out of the wall below the toilet tank. Once that'south shut off, affluent the toilet to get the residual water out of the tank, then have a wet shop vac and extract annihilation that's left.

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A shop-vac is a helpful tool for sucking h2o out of either the tank or the basin.

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Never attempt to drain a toilet without cut off the h2o supply. Your toilet volition not bleed properly if the water is yet turned on and information technology tin cause h2o to leak, causing a huge mess in your bathroom.^[8]

About This Article

Article Summary X

To drain a toilet tank, start by turning the minor knob at the base of operations of the toilet clockwise to shut off the water supply to the toilet. Next, carefully take the tiptop off of the toilet tank and fix information technology bated. So, flush the toilet, which volition cause the water in the tank to first to drain. Keep property down the flush valve until the water drains completely from the tank of your toilet. For tips on draining the toilet bowl one time the tank is tuckered, read on!

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